alignments of swords made by wizards?

[geoffrey]

Suppose a PC wizard was going to the time and expense to enchant a sword. How do you determine what the sword's alignment will be? Do you require it to be identical to that of the wizard? Or do you allow the wizard to choose the alignment? Or do you make a random determination? (In this latter case, what percentages do you use?)

Any and all thoughts on the alignments of newly-enchanted swords will be much appreciated.

[hamurai]

I'd probably use several factors to determine the alignment, the wizard's alignment being the base for it and then taking into account all the big and small details concerning the creation. For example,

• the alignment of the stars,
  
• the place where it's created (Has a demon or devil been summoned here? An angel? Is it a place of joy or despair? Is a great evil near? A great good?...),
  
• the materials used and how they were acquired (Was blood shed to mine this ore? Was it mined by the wizard himself or by someone else? What alignment did they have?...)
• the wizard's intention (What alignment does he want the sword to have? What does he do to influence it?)

But I'd make sure the wizard knows at least about some of the influences so he can prepare accordingly. As a wizard, he'd probably know. If he's in a hurry, I'd roll the alignment based on the factors above, if he's well-prepared he'd probably succeed in giving it the desired alignment as long as it's not his opposite.

[Scott Anderson]

90% the wizard decides, 10% random from the other two; 50/50.

Honestly never had an OSR wizard try it.

[tetramorph]

I make it entirely dependent upon the MU’s alignment. It isn’t part of the formula, it is simply inadvertently impressed upon the blade through the uncontrollable influence of the magical forger.

So if you want a magic sword of a particular alignment, you’ve got to find a MU of the same.

[derv]

Generally, I would think alignment would be determined by the enchanters alignment. I find it hard to rationalize a situation where a Lawful wizard would desire to create a Chaotic sword or vice versa. Perhaps he could for a Lawful endeavor. Even still, I'm not sure how I would determine the likelihood of success. The difficulty would be great. Certainly, a wizard could not do it under coercion or stress. But, maybe such a result might occur by error or mishap.

[howandwhy99]

Nov 20, 2017 17:19:45 GMT -6 geoffrey said:

Suppose a PC wizard was going to the time and expense to enchant a sword. How do you determine what the sword's alignment will be? Do you require it to be identical to that of the wizard? Or do you allow the wizard to choose the alignment? Or do you make a random determination? (In this latter case, what percentages do you use?)

Any and all thoughts on the alignments of newly-enchanted swords will be much appreciated.

I think the best question to ask here is: "What is actually going on?". In other words, what is Alignment to you? What would make a sword (or anything else) have an alignment? What does it means for a sword to act lawfully, neutrally, or chaotically?

Beyond this you also want to know about enchanted items. What is enchantment for you? And what kind of acts would result in a sword becoming enchanted? What changes about the sword when it becomes enchanted? Why are there different magical effects for different enchanted swords?

I believe there are many possible answers for these questions and its up to each referee to determine answers to them (and possibly others) for their own game. I like to keep magic broad and open enough for players (and NPCs) to take many different tacks to achieve similar effects, not simply new ones. (Besides multiple routes being a better playing game, it also means I can take it easy and simplify end effects as a DM).

For OD&D, my go to answers for a lot of this is: Intelligent Swords. They are enchanted with souls of people. Those people have Alignments, To Hit Ability (bonuses), and potentially lots of other abilities too. Plus, you might learn how to talk to them. After all, they have their own history (before becoming a sword), knowledge, personality, and more.

[countingwizard]

Who makes magical swords? I think wizards could probably make +1 magical weapons with maybe a one power or so. Elves make +2 magical weapons. Dwarves make +3 weapons. Or make up your own rules and logical for your own campaign. I'd probably make up a set of rules on how magical weapons are made by wizards; with the rule of thumb that a +3 artifact quality weapon taking years to create.

I've been working on creating a Dragon Pass campaign lately, and one of the aspects of Glorantha is that Runelords (similar to clerics) create their own magical sword as a rite of passage by capturing and placing a spirit into a sword vessel. The alignment of the sword is then the alignment of the spirit captured.

[tetramorph]

Dec 19, 2017 15:14:19 GMT -6 countingwizard said:

The alignment of the sword is then the alignment of the spirit captured.

That is a pretty cool idea, countingwizard.

I'd snatch it up in a second if it fit my campaign world a little better.

But I would love to play in a campaign where that was how magic swords (and perhaps even other items) worked.